Addressable outlet for use in wired local area network

ABSTRACT

An addressable outlet for use as part of local area network based on wiring installed in a building, such as telephone, electrical, cable television, dedicated wiring, and the like. The use of such wiring for data communications networks in addition to the wiring&#39;s primary usage creates a need for ways of determining the condition of the network and monitoring this information remotely. Network condition includes such factors as continuity of wiring, connector status, connected devices, topology, signal delays, latencies, and routing patterns. Providing basic processing and addressing capabilities within the outlet permits messaging to and from specific individual outlets, thereby allowing inquiries and reports of the condition of the immediate environment of each outlet. In addition, outlets can be configured with sensors to report on voltage, temperature, and other measurable quantities.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of pending U.S. application Ser. No.10/491,989, filed on Apr. 4, 2004, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of wired Local Area Networks(LAN's) using outlets, and, more specifically, to an addressable outletfor use in such networks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Outlets

The term “outlet” herein denotes an electromechanical device, whichfacilitates easy, rapid connection and disconnection of external devicesto and from wiring installed within a building. An outlet commonly has afixed connection to the wiring, and permits the easy connection ofexternal devices as desired, commonly by means of an integratedconnector in a faceplate. The outlet is normally mechanically attachedto, or mounted in, a wall. Non-limiting examples of common outletsinclude: telephone outlets for connecting telephones and relateddevices; CATV outlets for connecting television sets, VCR's, and thelike; and electrical outlets for connecting power to electricalappliances. The term “wall” herein denotes any interior or exteriorsurface of a building, including, but not limited to, ceilings andfloors, in addition to vertical walls.

LAN Environment

FIG. 1 shows a typical prior art LAN environment 10. Such a networkcommonly uses 10BaseT or 100BaseTX Ethernet IEEE802.3 interfaces andtopology, and features a hub 11 as a concentrating device, into whichall devices are connected. Devices are connected to the hub 11 by dataconnectors 14 a, 14 b, and 14 c, which are housed within network outlets15 a, 15 b, and 15 c respectively. Connections to the hub 11 are viacables 13 a, 13 b, and 13 c respectively. Data connectors 14 a, 14 b,and 14 c may be, for example, type RJ-45 connectors; and cables 13 a, 13b, and 13 c may be, for example, Category 5 cabling. The data portion ofnetwork 10 uses data units (which may be computers) 7 a, 7 b, and 7 c,which connect to network connectors 14 a, 14 b, and 14 c via cables 16a, 16 b, and 16 c, respectively. A server 12 may also be connected tothe hub 11, and can perform the external connection functionality, aswell as other server functions as applied in the art.

Although FIG. 1 refers to the hub 11 as a concentrating device, it is tobe understood that any type of device having multiple network interfacesand supporting a suitable connectivity can be used, non-limitingexamples of which include shared hubs, switches (switched hubs),routers, and gateways. Hence, the term “hub” herein denotes any suchdevice without limitation. Furthermore, network 10 can be anypacket-based network, either in-building or distributed, such as a LANor the Internet.

The topology of network 10 as shown in FIG. 1 incurs various maintenancedifficulties. The wiring from the hub 11 to the data unit 7 a, forexample, includes wire 13 a, connector 14 a and wire 16 a. Because theseconductors are continuous, there is no easy way to distinguish a breakor short-circuit in wire 13 a from a break or short-circuit in wire 16a, nor from a break or short-circuit in connector 14 a. Troubleshootingsuch failures requires disconnecting cables and inserting dedicated testequipment or making elaborate and thorough substitutions of componentsthat are known to be functional. Such procedures are complicated,labor-intensive, time-consuming, and expensive. Furthermore, in thecommon case of an outlet to which no data unit is connected, there is nosimple way to test the continuity of wiring from the hub to the outlet.In addition, in many cases it is necessary to test the LAN from a remoteplace (such as via the Internet) in cases where it is not possible toattach testing equipment to non-connected outlets.

Discussion of network management and example of network managementsystem are part of U.S. Pat. No. 5,812,750 to Dev et al.

Home Networking

Most existing offices and some of the newly built buildings facilitatethe network structure of network 10. However, implementing such anetwork in existing buildings typically requires installation of newwiring infrastructure. Such installation of new wiring may beimpractical, expensive and hassle-oriented. As a result, manytechnologies (referred to as “no new wires” technologies) have beenproposed in order to facilitate a LAN in a building without adding newwiring. Some of these techniques use existing wiring used also for otherpurposes such as telephone, electricity, cable television, and so forth.Doing so offers the advantage of being able to install such systems andnetworks without the additional and often substantial cost of installingseparate wiring within the building. In order to facilitate multiple useof wiring within a building, specialized outlets are sometimesinstalled, which allow access to the wiring for multiple purposes. Anexample of home networking over coaxial cables using outlets isdescribed in WO 02/065229 published 22 Aug. 2002 entitled: ‘CableranNetworking over Coaxial Cables’ to Cohen et al.

The use of such wiring for additional purposes creates a need for waysof easily determining the condition of the wiring and obtaining thisinformation remotely.

Home networking using existing telephone lines will be described as anexample.

Definitions And Background

The term “telephony” herein denotes in general any kind of telephoneservice, including analog and digital service, such as IntegratedServices Digital Network (ISDN).

Analog telephony, popularly known as “Plain Old Telephone Service”(“POTS”) has been in existence for over 100 years, and is well-designedand well-engineered for the transmission and switching of voice signalsin the 3-4 KHz portion (or “band”) of the audio spectrum. The familiarPOTS network supports real-time, low-latency, high-reliability,moderate-fidelity voice telephony, and is capable of establishing asession between two end-points, each using an analog telephone set.

The terms “telephone”, “telephone set”, and “telephone device” hereindenote any apparatus, without limitation, which can connect to a PublicSwitch Telephone Network (“PSTN”), including apparatus for both analogand digital telephony, non-limiting examples of which are analogtelephones, digital telephones, facsimile (“fax”) machines, automatictelephone answering machines, voice modems, and data modems.

The terms “data unit”, “computer” and “personal computer” (“PC”) as usedherein include workstations and other data terminal equipment (DTE) withinterfaces for connection to a local area network

In-home telephone service usually employs two or four wires, to whichtelephone sets are connected via telephone outlets.

Home Networking Over Telephone Lines.

FIG. 2 shows the wiring configuration of a prior-art telephone systemincluding a network 20 for a residence or other building, wired with atelephone line 5, which has a single wire pair that connects to ajunction-box 34, which in turn connects to a Public Switched TelephoneNetwork (PSTN) 39 via a cable 33 (‘local loop’), terminating in a publicswitch 32, which establishes and enables telephony from one telephone toanother. The term “high-frequency” herein denotes any frequencysubstantially above such analog telephony audio frequencies, such asthat used for data. ISDN typically uses frequencies not exceeding 100KHz (typically the energy is concentrated around 40 KHz). The term“telephone line” herein denotes electrically-conducting lines which areintended primarily for the carrying and distribution of analog telephonysignals, and includes, but is not limited to, suchelectrically-conducting lines which may be pre-existing within abuilding and which may currently provide analog telephony service.

Junction box 34 separates the in-home circuitry from the PSTN and isused as a test facility for troubleshooting as well as for new wiring inthe home. A plurality of telephones may connect to telephone lines 5 viaa plurality of telephone outlets. Each outlet has a connector (oftenreferred to as a “jack”), commonly being in the form of RJ-11 connectorsin North-America. Each outlet may be connected to a telephone unit via acompatible “plug” connector that inserts into the jack.

Wiring 5 is usually based on a serial or “daisy-chained” topology,wherein the wiring is connected from one outlet to the next in a linearmanner; but other topologies such as star, tree, or any arbitrarytopology may also be used. Regardless of the topology, however, thetelephone wiring system within a residence always uses wired media: twoor four copper wires terminating in one or more outlets which providedirect access to these wires for connecting to telephone sets.

It is often desirable to use existing telephone wiring simultaneouslyfor both telephony and data networking. In this way, establishing a newlocal area network in a home or other building is simplified, becausethere is no need to install additional wiring.

The concept of frequency domain/division multiplexing (FDM) iswell-known in the art, and provides means of splitting the bandwidthcarried by a wire into a low-frequency band capable of carrying ananalog telephony signal and a high-frequency band capable of carryingdata communication or other signals. Such a mechanism is described, forexample, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,448 to Reichert et al. (hereinafterreferred to as “Reichert”). Also widely used are xDSL systems, primarilyAsymmetric Digital Subscriber Loop (ADSL) systems.

Examples of relevant prior-art in this field are the technology commonlyknown as HomePNA (Home Phoneline Networking Alliance), WO 99/12330 toFoley and as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,896,443 to Dichter(hereinafter referred to as “Dichter”). Dichter and others suggest amethod and apparatus for applying a frequency domain/divisionmultiplexing (FDM) technique for residential telephone wiring, enablingthe simultaneous carrying of telephony and data communication signals.The available bandwidth over the wiring is split into a low-frequencyband capable of carrying an analog telephony signal, and ahigh-frequency band capable of carrying data communication signals. Insuch a mechanism, telephony is not affected, while a data communicationcapability is provided over existing telephone wiring within a home.

In addition to illustrating a residential telephone system, FIG. 2 alsoshows the arrangement of a Dichter network. Network 20 serves bothanalog telephones and provides a local area network of data units. DataTerminal Equipment (DTE) units 7 a, 7 b, 7 c and 7 d are connected tothe local area network via Data Communication Equipment (DCE) units 25a, 25 b, 25 c and 25 d, respectively. Examples of Data CommunicationEquipment include, but are not limited to, modems, line drivers, linereceivers, and transceivers (the term “transceiver” herein denotes acombined transmitter and receiver), which enables data communicationover the high spectrum of telephone line 5. DCE units (‘phonelinemodems’) 25 a, 25 b, 25 c and 25 d are respectively connected to highpass filters (HPF) 24 a, 24 b, 24 c and 24 d, which allow access to thehigh-frequency band carried by telephone line 5. In order to avoidinterference to the data network caused by the telephones, low passfilters (LPF's) 23 a, 23 b, 23 c and 23 d are added to isolate the POTScarrying band, so that telephones 26 a, 26 b, 26 c and 26 d connects totelephone line 5 for providing PSTN. Furthermore, a low pass filter mayalso be connected to Junction Box 34 (not shown in the figure), in orderto filter noise induced from or input to PSTN wiring 33.

WO 01/71980 published Sep. 27, 2001 entitled “Telephone Outlet andSystem for a Local Area Network Over Telephone Lines” in the name of thepresent inventor and assigned to the present assignee, describes theintegration of DCE 25, HPF 24, and LPF 23 components into outlets 21 inorder to reduce complexity, as shown in FIG. 2. This allows directconnection of telephone sets 6 a, 6 b, 6 c, and 6 d to outlets 21 a, 21b, 21 c, and 21 d, respectively, via dedicated connectors (as is done inprior-art common telephone outlets), as well as direct and easyconnection of data units 7 a, 7 b, 7 c, and 7 d to the respectiveoutlets via dedicated jacks, as is usually done in LAN systems (as shownin FIG. 1).

The topology of network 20 as shown in FIG. 2 exhibits the maintenancedifficulties previously discussed. The data flow from data unit 7 a todata unit 7 b, for example, is via wiring 16 a, wiring 5 b and wiring 16b, as well as connectors such as 22 a and 22 b. Having continuous dataflow, there is no easy way to distinguish a short-circuit in wiring 16 afrom a short-circuit in wiring 16 b, or from a short-circuit in wiring 5b, or from a short-circuit in any of the interim connectors. Similarly,a break in the wiring cannot be easily or remotely isolated to wiring 16a or wiring 16 b. Troubleshooting any of the above failures can only beaccomplished by trial and error and requires disconnecting cables 16 a,16 b, 16 c, and 16 d, and inserting other data units to the outlets. Ifthe failure, however, is in wiring 5 c, more troubleshooting will benecessary, and can ultimately involve disconnecting the entire network.As noted above, this is a complicated, expensive, labor-intensive, andtime-consuming effort. Furthermore, in the common case of an outlet intowhich no data units are connected, there is no simple way to test wiringcontinuity to the outlet. In addition, as explained in WO 99/03255 toBell, in many cases it is required to test the LAN from a remote place(e.g. via the Internet), and no local presence is available to approachthe disconnected outlets for attaching testers.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,082 entitled Data flow control arrangement for localarea network (Delaney et al.) published Nov. 22, 1988 discloses a localdata distribution network wherein a plurality of bidirectional datadistribution busses are each connected to a bus master control circuitat a terminal end of the bus. Connected to each of the data distributionbusses are a plurality of passive outlets to which intelligentconnectors or stations may be connected. Each station has a uniqueaddress and is utilized for individually coupling data processingdevices to the bus. A bus termination hub switching facility cooperateswith the included group of bus master control circuits to interconnectdata processing stations on the various busses. The bus termination hubfacility includes bus monitoring, status polling and maintenancefacilities. A faulty bus is disconnected if a fault is discovered duringmonitoring intervals. It remains disconnected until the fault iscorrected.

JP 55132197A2 published Oct. 14, 1980 in the name of Sharp Corporationand entitled “Unit Controlling Electric Equipment Making Use of HouseWiring” relates to the control of electrical equipment connected tohouse wiring. An address information signal is sent through a couplingunit from a transmission controller to house wiring. On the receptionside, reception controllers receive the address information signalthrough coupling units inserted into sockets provided at respectivepositions of the house wiring. From one of controllers whoseincorporated address information agrees with the received addressinformation, answer information is sent back to the transmission side.On the transmission side, an operation command code is sent out uponreceiving the answer information from the reception side so as tocontrol electric equipment.

In both above prior art patents, passive outlets are used, hence thereis no way to distinguish between a failure in the wiring into which theoutlets are connected, and a failure in the wiring/equipment connectedto the outlet.

There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highlyadvantageous to have, a method and system for allowing remote diagnosisof LAN environment outlets without requiring local access to the networkand without dismantling the network. This goal is met by the presentinvention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to allow convenientdetermination of the status of installed wiring within a building, andthe outlets and connectors thereto.

It is a further object of the present invention to allow convenientdetermination of the condition of devices and apparatus connected to thevarious outlets of an installed wiring system. It is moreover an objectof the present invention to permit such determination remotely.

In order to attain these objectives, the present invention provides anoutlet having an address which uniquely identifies the outlet within aninformation network that is established, at least in part, over wiringto which the outlet is connected. Associated with this unique networkaddress is processing circuitry and an addressing unit capable ofstoring and utilizing the unique network address, to allow the outlet toreceive and send messages associated with the address. The processingcircuitry interfaces with the network to support such messaging, and maygenerate content for messages to be sent to other devices on thenetwork, and may likewise receive and process messages sent to theoutlet from other devices. The unique network address is associated withboth the sending and receiving of messages over the network. In the caseof receiving messages, the unique address allows the circuitry in theoutlet to discriminate between messages intended for that outlet andmessages intended for other devices. In the case of sending messages,the unique address serves to identify the source of the message. Becauseaddresses are associated both with senders and receivers, the processingcircuitry may respond to messages sent to the outlet from other devicesby sending messages from the outlet to other devices.

Outlets according to the present invention include, but are not limitedto, electrical power outlets, telephone outlets, and cable televisionoutlets.

The term “information network” herein denotes any system that allowsmultiple devices to send and receive information of any kind, whereineach device may be uniquely identified for purposes of sending andreceiving information. Information networks include, but are not limitedto, data networks, control networks, cable networks, and telephonenetworks. A data network utilizing outlets according to the presentinvention can be a local area network (LAN) or part of a wide-areanetwork, including the Internet.

Therefore, according to the present invention there is provided anoutlet for use with wiring installed in a building, and having at leastone address that uniquely identifies the outlet within an informationnetwork.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is herein described, by way of non-limiting example only,with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a prior art local area network.

FIG. 2 shows a prior art local area network over telephone lines.

FIG. 3 shows a local area network outlet according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 shows a local area network according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a local area network over telephone lines outlet accordingto the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates the front panel of a telephone outlet according tothe present invention.

FIG. 7 shows a local area network over telephone lines according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates a general form of an outlet according to the presentinvention, which can serve in various wired network environments, suchas CATV and electrical power networks.

FIG. 9 shows a remote-managed local area network according to thepresent invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The principles and operation of a network according to the presentinvention may be understood with reference to the drawings and theaccompanying description. The drawings and descriptions are conceptualonly. In actual practice, a single component can implement one or morefunctions; alternatively, each function can be implemented by aplurality of components and circuits. In the drawings and descriptions,identical reference numerals indicate those components that are commonto different embodiments or configurations.

FIG. 3 schematically shows an outlet 30 according to a first embodimentof the invention. As shown in FIG. 3, outlet 30 includes a three-porthub 11. One port goes to a connector 31, which connects the outlet 30 tonetwork wiring as previously described, and as is known in the art (suchas to wiring 13 a in FIG. 1). Another hub port goes to a connector 38,enabling connection of a data unit as described previously and as isknown in the art (such as to data unit 7 a via wiring 16 a in FIG. 1).The third port goes to a processing unit 36, integrated within outlet30. Processing unit 36 provides the basic functionality of a data unit(such as data unit 7 a of FIG. 1), and principally includes an addressunit 37, with a stored address 39, that is unique within the network.For example, in an Ethernet network using interfaces 10BaseT or100BaseTX according to IEEE802.3, the processing unit 36 may include aMAC (Media Access Control) address or an IP (Internet Protocol) address,as the address 39. In this manner, outlet 30 becomes an addressableentity within the network, and is able to respond to messages carryingaddress 39, or to transmit messages containing address 39 as a source.Because the outlet 30 is an addressable entity in the network, it ispossible to execute remote diagnostics to determine the status andhealth of the outlet 30. For example, a message calling for a reply canbe sent to the outlet 30. Receiving an answer from such an outletconfirms the existence of the outlet in the network, as well as thebasic functionality of the outlet and any connections to the outlet viawhich the answer is received. Furthermore, one or more status devicesmay be integrated in the outlet and addressed either individually or asa group, to providing meaningful data about the outlet status and thecondition of the network in general. Typical status devices are voltagesensors, continuity detectors, hub activity indicators, transducers etc.Network condition includes, but is not limited to, such factors ascontinuity of wiring, connector status, connected devices, topology,signal delays, latencies, and routing patterns. Although the outlet 30has been described above as having a single data networking interface38, multiple interfaces can be supported, each connected to a differentport of hub 11. Processing unit 36 may also be capable of analyzingreceived messages, in order to perform actions in response thereto, aswell as composing messages for sending, in order to respond to receivedmessages, or to initiate messages to other devices on the network. Forexample, processing unit 36 may detect an abnormal condition oremergency situation, and may therefore notify other devices on thenetwork via messages.

Managed devices such as managed hub, managed switch and router are knownin the art. Outlet 30 may be viewed as a managed device housed within anoutlet.

FIG. 4 shows a Local Area Network (LAN) 40 according to the presentinvention. Basically, the infrastructure of network 40 is the same asthat of prior art network 10 (FIG. 1), in which hub 11 is connected in a‘star’topology to various end units via network wiring 13 a and 13 b,which are connected respectively to outlets 15 a and 15 b (in FIG. 1).However, according to the present invention, outlets 15 a and 15 b ofprior-art network 10 are replaced by outlets 30 a and 30 b,respectively, which contain addressable processing units 36 a and 36 b,as previously described with reference to FIG. 3. For example, outlet 30a has built-in processing unit 36 a, addressing unit 37 a, and address39 a. Outlet 30 a allows for connection of data unit 7 a via a connector38 a using wiring 16 a. Similarly, outlet 30 b allows data unit 7 b tobe connected to the network via wiring 16 b to a connector 38 b.Addressing units 37 a and 37 b integrated within outlets 30 a and 30 b,respectively, allow for unique identification of outlets 30 a and 30 bby addresses 39 a and 39 b, respectively.

Network 40 offers the advantages of being able to individually addresseach outlet, hence allowing remote diagnostics. The outlets 30 a and 30b of network 40 can now facilitate fault localization. For example, theserver 12 will transmit a message to outlet 30 a, using outlet 30 aaddress, followed by a message to data unit 7 a. In the case whereinoutlet 30 a responds to the server 12 and data unit 7 a does notrespond, the most probable scenario is that the connection between thedata unit and outlet 30 a is faulty or no data unit is connected tooutlet 30 a. Hence, assuming data unit 7 a is connected, the fault iseasily limited only to connector 38 a, wiring 16 a or data unit 7 a.Similarly, in the case wherein no reply is received from outlet 30 a,the fault is localized to cable 13 a, connector 31 a or outlet 30 a.

Powering the outlet 30 can be implemented either locally, by connectinga power supply to each outlet, or, preferably, via the network itself.In the latter case, commonly known as “Power over LAN”, the power can becarried to the outlet from a central location either by an additionalwire pair, using the well-known phantom configuration, or by the FDM(Frequency Division/Domain Multiplexing) method. The latter commonlyemploys DC feeding, which is frequency-isolated from the data carried inthe higher part of the spectrum.

In another embodiment, the present invention is used in a data networkover in-building telephone lines, where analog telephony signals arecarried in the low-frequency portion of the spectrum, and datacommunication signals are carried in the high-frequency portion. FIG. 5shows an outlet 50 according the present invention, which is able toseparate and combine signals in different portions of the spectrum.Outlet 50 connects to the telephone wiring via a connector 22,preferably located at the rear part of outlet 50, where outlet 50mechanically mounts to an interior wall of the building. A Low PassFilter (LPF) 23 isolates the analog telephony part of the spectrum forconnection to an analog telephone via a jack 56. Jack 56 is preferably astandard telephone jack, such as RJ-11 in North-America. Datacommunication signals are isolated by a High Pass Filter (HPF) 24, whichconnects to a Data Communications Equipment (DCE) unit 25, which servesas a modem for data communications over the telephone line media. Anintegrated hub 11 allows sharing data between processing unit 36,including address unit 37 with address 39, and a data jack 38, forconnecting external devices to the network via DCE unit 25. Processingunit 36 with integrated address unit 37 allows messages directed to orfrom the outlet to be uniquely routed. Outlet 50 supports both standardanalog telephony (via jack 56) as well as data communications via jack38.

FIG. 6 pictorially illustrates the front panel of a telephone outlet 50according to the present invention, having both telephony connector 56and data connector 38.

FIG. 7 illustrates a network 70 that operates over telephone lines 5 a,5 b, and 5 c, and employs outlets 50 a and 50 b according to the presentinvention. Network 70 supports regular PSTN telephony service via analogtelephone sets 26 a and 26 b, connected to the telephone connectors ofoutlets 50 a and 50 b respectively. Simultaneously, data networking canbe accomplished by data units 7 a and 7 b. Outlets 50 a and 50 b caneach be addressed by any other outlet or data unit in the network usingdedicated addresses 39 a and 39 b, conveyed by address units 37 a and 37b, respectively. Similarly, outlets 50 a and 50 b can address any otherentity in the network, and as such both the outlets and the variousnetwork segments can be fault isolated as described above.

Although the invention has been so far demonstrated as relating totelephone wiring and telephone outlets, the invention can be similarlyapplied to any type of wired networking within a building, such as CATVor electrical power wiring. FIG. 8 illustrates an outlet 80, which is ageneral embodiment of the present invention. Outlet 80 is similar inoverall layout to the outlet 50 shown in FIG. 5. Outlet 80 connects tothe relevant wiring via a connector 81 and contains an integrateddata/service splitter/combiner unit 82, which isolates the data carriedover the wiring from the main service signal. In the case of telephony,unit 82 contains a low-pass filter (such as LPF 23 a as shown in FIG. 7)and a high-pass filter (such as HPF 24 a as shown in FIG. 7). In thecase of electrical power wiring, the AC power is split by unit 82 andfed to a socket 84, for supplying electrical power as is normal for suchan outlet. In this case, a modem 83 being a power-line carrier (PLC)modem interfaces the hub 11 to the integrated data/servicesplitter/combiner unit 82 to allow data communication over the powerline. Similarly, in the case of a CATV application, where the CATVwiring is used for the network infrastructure, modem 83 is a coaxialcable modem, and unit 82 isolates the CATV signal from the data signal.

Although the invention has been so far described as relating toEthernet/IP-based data networks, the invention can be similarly appliedto any type of data network. Furthermore, although packet networks arethe most common for local area networks, the invention is not restrictedto packet networks only, and can be applied to any digital data network,where network entities are identified uniquely by addresses.

Furthermore, although the invention has been described as relating tonetworks based on continuous electrical conducting media (telephone,CATV, or electrical power), and the relevant modem and associatedcircuitry are connected in parallel to the wiring infrastructure, theinvention can be applied equally to the case wherein the wiring is notcontinuous, but is in discrete segments. Such an arrangement isdisclosed in WO 0007322 published Feb. 10, 2000 and entitled “Local AreaNetwork of Serial Intelligent Cells” in the name of the present inventorand assigned to the present assignee.

Although outlets 30, 50 and 80 are each described above as having asingle data connection, it is to be understood that multiple datanetwork interfaces can be included within an outlet, each connected todifferent port of the respective hub (such as hub 11 a, as shown in FIG.7).

In addition, although the present invention has been described withrespect to a single address associated with each outlet, it will beappreciated that multiple addresses can also be assigned to an outlet.Different addresses can be associated with different data ports and/orwith different functionalities of the outlet thus improving faultisolation by separately addressing the addressable data ports orfunctionalities until an absence of a response signal to a diagnosticmessage indicates that the addressed port and/or functionality of theoutlet is faulty or that there is a break in the connection paththereto.

While the invention has been described with regard to local areanetworks, wherein the fault is localized locally, it will be appreciatedthat assigning addresses to outlets facilitates also remote diagnosticsand fault localization. Such a network 90 is described in FIG. 9.Network 90 comprises local area network part similar to network 40 above(Phoneline, CATV or powerline based networks can equally be used).However, an external connection is added to an external network 92. Theconnection makes use of a gateway 93, bridging between the external WANand the internal LAN, commonly known as Integrated Access Device (IAD),Home or Residential Gateway (RG). For example, the external network canbe a Wide Area Network (WAN), either wired or non-wired. For example,the external network 92 can be the Internet. The connection can be viadifferent access technologies such as xDSL (using xDSL modem), CATVbased (using Cable Modem or Set Top Box) or wireless (satellite orterrestrial). A remote server 91 is a data unit connected remotely tothe WAN 92, and hence can communicate with the local area network andits components, data units 7 a, 7 b and outlets 30 a and 30 b. In suchan arrangement, fault isolation can be performed remotely, managed bythe server 91. By communicating with the outlets 30 a and 30 b and thedata units 7 a and 7 b, the server 91 can determine the faultlocalization to a segment level as described above. Furthermore, theremote server 91 may check the system integrity up to the outlets level,even if no data units are connected or operative. In such a case, aTelco (through xDSL connection) or CATV provider (through Cable modem orset-top-box) can remotely test and verify the status of the networkwithin a home.

1. A network comprising: a remote server located at a first locationremote from a second location for performing a monitoring operation; agateway; a wide area network (WAN) connected between the remote serverand said gateway and operative to allow the remote server to communicatewith the gateway; a data device at the second location; awall-attachable addressable outlet connectable to said data device,wherein said wall-attachable addressable outlet is mounted in a wall andhas an assigned address; and a wired local area network (LAN) at thesecond location to couple the gateway to the wall-attachable addressableoutlet in order to couple the data device to the wide area network,wherein the wired local area network is composed of wiring that is oneof telephone wiring, power wiring and CATV wiring, wherein the networkis operative to allow the wall-attachable addressable outlet to sendmessages to the remote server to enable the remote server to perform themonitoring operation, and wherein said wall-attachable addressableoutlet comprises a processing circuitry operative to send messages oversaid local area network indicating the operating condition of saidwall-attachable addressable outlet.
 2. The network according to claim 1,wherein the LAN includes residential telephone wiring concurrentlycarrying an analog telephone signal and data using frequency divisionmultiplexing, and the wall-attachable addressable outlet is furtheroperative to couple the analog telephone signal to a telephone unit. 3.The network according to claim 1, wherein the LAN includes residentialpower wiring concurrently carrying a power signal and data usingfrequency division multiplexing, and the wall-attachable addressableoutlet is further operative to couple the power signal to an appliance.4. The network according to claim 1, wherein the LAN includesresidential CATV wiring concurrently carrying a CATV signal and datausing frequency division multiplexing, and the wall-attachableaddressable outlet is further operative to couple the CATV signal to aCATV unit.
 5. The network according to claim 1, wherein the wiring ispower wiring, the LAN is Ethernet based, and the wall-attachableaddressable outlet has an assigned address that is one of a Media AccessControl (MAC) address and an Internet Protocol (IP) address.
 6. Thenetwork according to claim 1, wherein the wall-attachable addressableoutlet further comprises sensors operative to provide information aboutthe wall-attachable addressable outlet status.
 7. The network accordingto claim 1, wherein the wall-attachable addressable outlet is furtheroperative to be powered by a power signal carried by the wiring.
 8. Thenetwork according to claim 1, wherein the WAN is based on one of xDSL,CATV and wireless.
 9. The network according to claim 1, furthercomprising an addressable device housed in said wall-attachableaddressable outlet and operative for indicating an operating conditionof said wired local area network.
 10. The network according to claim 9,wherein the operating condition indicated includes continuity of wiring.11. The network according to claim 9, wherein the operating conditionindicated includes connector status.
 12. The network according to claim9, wherein the operating condition indicated includes topology of thewired local area network.
 13. The network according to claim 9, whereinthe operating condition indicated includes signal delays in the wiredlocal area network.
 14. The network according to claim 9, wherein theoperating condition indicated includes the operating condition of saidwall-attachable addressable outlet.
 15. The network according to claim9, wherein the operating condition indicated includes latencies in thewired local area network.
 16. The network according to claim 9, whereinthe operating condition indicated includes routing patterns in the wiredlocal area network.